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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-11-08, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2007.EditorialsOpinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie GroppAdvertising, Ken Warwick & Lori Patterson The CitizenP.O. Box 429,BLYTH, Ont.N0M 1H0Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152,BRUSSELS, Ont.N0G 1H0Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.comWebsite www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years Member of the Ontario Press Council The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels,Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc.Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $32.00/year ($30.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada;$92.00/year in U.S.A.and $175.00/year in other foreign countries.Advertising is accepted on thecondition that in the event of a typographical error,only that portion of the advertisement will becredited.Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth.PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Nov. 8, 1950 A special ceremony taking place on Remembrance Day was to unveil a new landmark to remember those who gave their lives for their country. All former members of the Armed Forces were invited by the Brussels Branch of the Canadian Legion to attend the unveiling of a new war memorial in memory of the soldiers from Brussels and Morris and Grey Twps., who gave their lives in the Second World War. The unveiling would be preceded by a service at the Brussels Presbyterian Church, then the veterans’ parade to the cenotaph, where the unveiling would take place. Popular and distinguished British author W. Somerset Maugham was to make his first television appearance. He would be seen every week by 43 cities as host and commentator of a half-hour program showing dramatizations of his many world-famous works. The United States was introducing its new Regulation X, which would impose stiffer credit regulations on home mortgages. It was aimed at cutting home building from the record high of the estimated 1,300,000 new homes built in 1950 to a predicted 800,000 in 1951. Many builders feared the new credit restrictions would reduce the number of houses built far more than predicted, but the government was prepared to ease the mortgage terms if Regulation X began cutting into the economy involved in house building. Questions were being raised by Dr. Joseph J. Hickey about whether the world’s climate was indeed warming progressively. Dr. Hickey had drawn from his research and evidence from the changing habits of some species of mammals and birds that inhabit along the line of northern limits between southern Iowa and New Jersey. Observation revealed that over 10 years prior to 1950, many birds and animals had moved their breeding patterns further and further north of where the limits used to be. The same kind of northward movement of animals had also been reported in Europe, with bird species moving as far north as Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and the Faroe Islands of Scotland. Adding to this evidence of climate warming, the glaciers being observed had been receding since 1850, with an increase in the rate since 1920. According to F. E. Mathhes of the U.S. Geological Survey, the glaciers had been growing 300 years prior to the beginning of recession in 1850. Despite this evidence, skeptics argued that the migration of animal species was due to environment changes, not climate changes. Clearcutting and the elimination of swamps in the same ares in Iowa and New Jersey was blamed on the migration of several animals who used to live there, and it was insisted that the animals migrated north only by coincidence. Nov. 8, 1961 The municipalities of the area were gearing up for the fall nominations. Dates and locations of nominations to take place were being announced this week, and candidates were stepping out on their campaigns. President Chiang Kal-shek of Nationalist China unveiled his Women’s Army Corps. Marching uniformly in a parade in Taipei, members of the corps were dressed in slit skirts and high-heeled shoes. The move was another intimidation tactic aimed toward Taiwan. A mishap at a San Diego intersection resulted in a large amount of broken eggs. After the guard bars at the back of a delivery truck gave way, several crates of eggs were spilled out the back onto the street. Firefighters spent an hour cleaning up the 12,000 eggs which had cracked onto the asphalt. Nov. 8, 1972 Fire brigades from Seaforth set out to an alarm just to turn around again before reaching the site. The Seaforth Fire Brigade had just started out to respond to a call from Brussels when they were turned around after it was learned over the radio that the call was a hoax. Seaforth police investigated the call which had claimed that the American Hotel in Brussels was on fire, and begged for help. A post office bag containing hundreds of copies of The Brussels Post disappeared before being delivered. The bag was placed in the Seaforth post office, ordinarily arriving in Brussels the next morning, but the bag seemed to have only reached Stratford before disappearing. The post office checked the usual route but the bag was nowhere to be found. No one seemed to have any idea what happened to the copies of The Post, and subscribers remained waiting for their copies, without any sort of compensation. Apologies were made, but the bag of papers was never to show up. Nov. 9, 1988 A fire completely destroyed a home on the 6th line in Morris Twp. The family of six barely escaped with the clothes on their backs. Blyth firefighters did what they could but could not save the home. No cause of the fire had been discovered. The family was taken in by their neighbours and an outpouring of support was felt. DEAR EDITOR, As Remembrance Day looms on the horizon, I find myself reflecting on the past, and seriously contemplating the many challenges of the future. Unfortunately, the past 100 years have not been a shining example of humanity at its finest. Quite to the contrary, in the past century alone, mankind has engaged in numerous military conflicts costing us countless thousands of lives. That said, the silver lining to the cloud is the tremendous and proud legacy that has been passed to us by those who served and by those who serve today. We, who have never known war, owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those who spent their youth in defence of freedom. Their contribution is now a part of our history and their legacy is part of our collective heritage. As we approach Remembrance Day 2007, we owe it to the next generation, our children and grandchildren, to recall the sacrifices of our past and present heroes. This Nov. 11, I would urge all Canadians, young and young at heart, to take a moment to reflect and to remember the gifts that we have been given. The peace and freedom that we enjoy today, the democratic institutions that we depend on and the personal security that we cherish, were all purchased with the blood of Canadian soldiers. Please remember that as you stand in Legions, at Cenotaphs, and on main streets across Huron-Bruce this Nov. 11. The intent of this exercise is to encourage all Canadians to reflect and to honour the sacrifices made by our brave and courageous veterans who defended this country during its darkest hours. May those who have gone before us have our remembrance, our gratitude and may they rest in peace. Paul Steckle, MP Huron-Bruce We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Let’s bury this myth Rural Canadians still like to believe the myth that they live a healthy lifestyle, and it could be killing us. According to a study by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, quoted in the October issue of Country Guide magazine, a rural Canadian man born today can expect to live 2.5 years less than his equivalent born in a city. This despite the image that we breath fresh air, get more exercise and don’t have to deal with the stress and violence of cities. While there are other factors, the biggest single factor in shorter life expectancies for rural men is unhealthy lifestyle decisions, the study says. The institute found 57 per cent of rural Canadians are overweight or obese, compared to 47 per cent of urbanites. On top of that, 32 per cent of rural residents smoke, compared to 25 per cent of urbanites. Part of the problem is that we’re living in the past in our thinking. Farmers who once had physically active lives, now can accomplish most of the heavy-lifting with the press of a button. Haying, and feeding that hay after it was stored, once was a demanding job. Now it’s made easy with hydraulics on a tractor. Automated feeding systems allow farmers to feed hundreds or thousands of animals with the flick of a switch. Planting crops once meant walking miles behind a horse and plow, now a farmer can work all day long in a tractor cab and hardly burn any calories. Yet they continue to eat as if they had long, hard physical days. It’s not just farmers, either. Small town residents are used to pulling up within a few feet of the door of any store they shop in while urbanites walk to stores because it’s just too difficult to find parking. Many use subways to get around, requiring walks at both ends of the trip. On top of that, going to the gym is becoming part of the urban culture. The result is that out of every 100,000 residents in a typical year, 792 rural people will die, compared to 668 urbanites. We’re already fighting a losing battle of declining rural influence because of the growth of big cities. We can’t afford to lose more of our people to early death than we need to. The first step is to become realistic about our rural lifestyles, then take steps to correct the situation so we lead healthier lives. — KR Damned if you do, and don’t Ontario Power Generation last week served notice it wants to increase the rates it charges for electricity from established generation facilities like hydro electric and nuclear plants when the rate cap comes off these facilities April 1. The proposed increase is 14 per cent, yet OPG says that amounts to only $3.50 per month for the average home. Nobody likes to see higher prices — for anything. The reality, however, is that we won’t get new generation facilities to keep the lights on in the future, at today’s subsidized rates that haven’t risen to reflect the realities of today’s markets. New York, for instance, charges more than twice what we pay. The reality of the other side is pointed out by NDP leader Howard Hampton who warns the increase will kill jobs in the hard-pressed forestry and manufacturing sectors. That’s the hard reality: we can’t afford to live with unrealistically low prices that keep us from being more energy efficient, yet there’s a short- term price to pay for raising rates. — KR & Letter to the editor